Smooth Transition

It has now been over a month that I've been back in the States; Spring semester at McDaniel has begun, and my happy honeymoon doing absolutely nothing at home has come to an end. To my surprise, re-entering the chaotic, albeit familar, surroundings of the little patch of U.S.A. that I call home was not difficult at all. After sleeping fitfully my first night home (it took almost a week to get back into a normal rhythm) my only "culture shock" of being back was getting into a fight with an Automatic Handicap door. We were seeing a movie at the Columbia mall, and it was my first time out since I'd arrived on Monday. In Budapest, they have very little ammenities for the handicapped; any automatic doors that one encounters part open from the middle. I'd forgotten about the novelty of a door that opens like a door (all by itself) and closes too (also by itself). So, while my face flushes in vain as I attempt to yank the now-open door into the theater closed, my brother kindly points to the large Handicap symbol on the glass, and asks me why I'm still trying to close it.

...sigh

Two other things that left me in wide-eyed wonder was the preponderance of English, and the nature of eating out in a restaurant. After living in a language barrier, understanding everything about my surroundings was an incredulous phenomenon for the first week. As I settled back in, the novelty quickly wore off, but I am always appreciative now when I think about it. In regards to dining out, well, there's a big difference between eating in a cozy basement cellar in Barcelona with an equally intimate menu and, say, eating out at the Macaroni Grill. Service here in the U.S. moves at light speed, and the servers are significantly more subservient and attentive. I swear they send waiters in Europe to a school whose namesake is: "Manicuring your nails is more important than taking care of your table." However, I do miss the slow and leisurely pace of a European meal and how the check is never brought to your table until you ask for it.

All in all though, it was a great experience. The highs and lows, nears and fars, and everything in between. I carry within me now an appreciation and understanding of culture, people, and independence that I would have never developed had I not taken that jump across the puddle. I also feel like the International Studies Department did a great job in preparing me for my re-entry; it's true that now that I'm back on campus and seeing familar faces, I feel a twinge of frustration when people ask me "So, how was Budapest?" because I know there's no way possible to condense and express my four months abroad in a matter of minutes. But that's okay, because if people want to hear more, they ask; and if not, well, that's their loss.

If I had to choose the one greatest thing that I walked away with from my semester overseas, it's knowing that people really aren't all that different when it comes down to it. All over the world they do the same things: they go grocery shopping, they go to work, they have dinner with their family, they socialize with friends; they just all do it in a slightly different way. It's the very essence of culture, and not just knowing it, but embracing it, is, in my mind, worth its weight in solid gold.